Pirate ship archaeologist to speak in Brewster

Thursday

Mar 9, 2017 at 7:56 AM

Mark the date: The Cape Cod Museum of Natural History, 869 Route 6A, Brewster, presents the History, Archaeology and Artifacts of the Pirate Ship Whydah with Christopher Macort, on Saturday, March 11, at 1 p.m. Macort is the senior archaeologist and director of exhibits at the Whydah Pirate Museum, located in West Yarmouth.

The program is free with museum admission.

The Whydah and her enormous cargo of treasures eluded discovery for over 260 years until 1984, when Barry Clifford found the wreck off the coast of Cape Cod, buried between 10 and 50 feet of sand, under water depths of 16 to 30 feet. With the discovery of the ship's bell in 1985 and a small brass placard in 2013, both inscribed with the ship's name and maiden voyage date, Whydah is the only fully authenticated Golden Age pirate shipwreck ever discovered.

Macort has been working for Clifford on the Whydah project for over 20 years as an underwater field archaeologist and artifact conservator. He’ll talk about the history, archaeology and artifacts of the Whydah including the most recent finds, and some of the mysteries that still exist regarding the wreck and the few survivors.

The Whydah Pirate Museum is located at 674 Route 28, West Yarmouth. It will be open on weekends in March, with hours expanding when the season begins.